Meridian has always stressed its industrial design—in fact, the company's full name, Boothroyd Stuart Meridian, gives top billing to industrial designer Allen Boothroyd—so I…
search
When I first learned that Meridian had co-badged, with Ferrari, a $3000 table radio, I was tempted to cynically dismiss it as a marketing gimmick—an attempt by the audio manufacturer to leverage the brand loyalty of the Italian automaker to its own highly developed industrial designs. The problem was, that required that I dismiss everything I knew about Meridian and its singular head designer, Bob Stuart.
Do I buy that argument? Pretty much—but I have to admit that I was slow to accept it. At first, the F80 really was just a radio to me, albeit a very handsome one. First, I came to realize that its AM section sounded uncommonly good, allowing me to enjoy my favorite shows, such as On the Media and Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! at their more convenient WNYC-AM broadcast times. In the beginning, I was just happy that the AM tuner was quiet, but I came to realize that it also sounded more than acceptably fine.
The FM tuner, not surprisingly, is far better, which is a bit of a pity when you…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Compact home entertainment system with 2.1 speaker system and DVD drive. Drive-units: two 3" alloy-cone full-range units, oval fiber-cone woofer. Amplifier power: 80W. Supported media: CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, WMA-CD, MP3-CD, DVD-A/V, CD, CD-DA, CD-R. Tuner bands: AM, FM, DAB. Inputs: 3.5mm analog, optical digital, dock, RS232, "future." Outputs: composite video, S-video, optical digital, 3.5mm headphone. Antennae: 2x F connector and internal (assignable by band).
Dimensions: 16" (408mm) W by 9" (230mm) H by 7.3" (185mm) D. Weight: 14…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: R601PW Classic Mono FM tabletop radio.
Digital Source: Ayre C-5xe universal player.
Preamplifier: Conrad-Johnson ACT2.2.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
CD Receiver: Linn Classik.
Loudspeakers: Mirage Incognita HDT-WM1 (in-wall), Hansen Prince V2.—Wes Phillips
John Marks wrote about the F80 in October 2008 (Vol.31 No.10):
Wes Phillips reviewed this $3000 Ferrari-branded complete home entertainment system in April 2008. I don't disagree with any of his specific observations—I requested a review sample only on the off chance that it might turn out to be a silver-bullet solution to the problem of a music lover seeking the best way to spend no more than $2500–$3500 for music playback in the home.
The positive aspects first: absolutely world-class packaging, presentation, design, build quality, and owner's manual. Open the box and take out…
I always look forward to Stereophile's Home Entertainment Shows, where I scout out interesting new models of affordable loudspeakers. At HE2007 in New York City, I was struck by the Silverline Audio room—not only by the sound I heard there, but by the way Showgoers reacted to that sound.
In his fairly large and acoustically favorable room, Silverline's Alan Yun was getting impressive sound from the diminutive Minuet bookshelf speakers ($600/pair). Alongside the Minuets stood a pair of Silverline's larger, floorstanding Preludes ($1200/pair, reviewed by Robert Deutsch in the March 2007…
It was at the upper end of the dynamic spectrum where the Minuet most impressed me. No matter what type of difficult program material I spun, and no matter at what volume level, the Silverline never sounded like a small bookshelf speaker. Speaking of "A Night in Tunisia"—in the Brooklyn Sax Quartet's iconoclastic reading of this tune, on A Far Side of Here (CD, Omnitone 12206), the saxes cover their entire ranges of frequency and dynamics. This track's wide dynamic swings were reproduced by the Silverlines without a hint of attenuation: they breathed BIG. When I took a spin with Timothy…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, bass-reflex stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" silk-dome tweeter, 3.25" paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 3.5kHz. Frequency range: 60Hz–28kHz. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended amplification: 10–300W RMS.
Dimensions: 9" (230mm) H by 5.5" (140mm) W by 7.25" (185mm) D. Shipping weight: 15 lbs (6.8kg)/pair.
Finishes: Cherry, Dark Rosewood (both vinyl).
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 2237 A/B.
Price: $600/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 31.
Manufacturer: Silverline Audio, 936…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110 II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Epos M5, Nola Mini.
Cables: Interconnect, all MIT: Magnum M3, MI…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As is to be expected from its small size, the Silverline Minuet offered lower-than-average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 85dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is significantly lower than the specified 88dB. However, its impedance magnitude (fig.1) remained above 6 ohms over the entire audioband, dropping only briefly below 5 ohms in the mid-treble. The electrical phase angle is overall a bit higher than normal, but given the fairly high magnitude, the speaker will be fairly easy for the partnering amplifier to drive.
The traces in fig.1 are free from the small…